Nothing Else Matters
by zeKaien
Summary: Allen Walker finds himself unwillingly falling inlove with Kanda Yuu, his senpai. When he thinks that the feelings are mutual between them, he hears words that will cut him open to the core and crush his heart to pieces. Yullen.
1. First Encounter

**Author's Notes: **this is my first -man story please have mercy on me! I've toying with this idea for months but I couldn't just gather enough courage to post it. D: and i'm still struggling with a lot of details and i'm trying to sort them out. urgh. anyway, please go on. i hope you enjoy... urgh

* * *

Allen slammed the door of his shoe locker shut and sighed. He received, yet again, a very cute, and very sweet note reminding him that he was a monster and a cursed kid from his school mates. Honestly, he was getting weary of all these bull crap but well, he wouldn't think of complaining; the bullying here in Japan was amiable compared to what he had to deal with back when he was still in England.

He slipped on his indoor shoes and walked away from the lockers, striding the tiled floor to his classroom. He bumped into an upperclassman but he didn't dare to look up at him. He bowed politely and apologized and went off, catching a glimpse of long, dark strands of hair lightly dancing in the air, as the upperclassman continued to march forward, not without spitting an audible 'che!' as he did so.

Allen arrived in front of his classroom. Bloody hell. He always dreaded to enter the bloody classroom. Who wouldn't, if you had to deal with a room full of bloody idiots who took pleasure on throwing ridiculous insults at him? He paused, took a deep breath, ignored the other students gawking at him, then he slid the door open and entered. He sat on his seat which was, thankfully, located at the very back and on the far end of the room. He pulled out a book from his bag, and again, mustered all his energy into ignoring his stupid classmates who instantly shut their mouths the moment he stepped in.

But the silence didn't keep for so long, sadly so.

'So that cursed kid went to school again.'

'Ew! I hope he stops coming to school! I've been saying all along that his arm shouldn't be allowed here!'

'Ha! Ha! I never knew monsters could read.'

'Hush! He can hear you! What if he cursed you all as well? He's a demon's child!'

'Really guys, can we just ignore him? I'm better off reading An-An. Ikuta Toma's on the cover. Tee hee.'

Well at least someone didn't want to bother minding Allen. He perfectly knew that all of his classmates were disgusted by him but at least there were more sensible ones who didn't voice their repugnance as much as the others, not contributing to the noise pollution around them. But he really needed to start to concentrate on his book now. He wanted to read at least the first five pages of the novel before the teacher could come-

'OI! WALKER!'

Allen's train of thoughts was rudely interrupted by Matsumoto, a tall and lanky boy whose mop of hair were pointing in one direction. He was sipping a carton of orange juice and his other hand was shoved in his trousers' pocket. He was right in front of his desk, smugly looking down on him.

'Yes, Matsumoto-san?' said Allen, politely smiling at him as he set down his book on his desk.

'I've been calling for you for a while now and you've been ignoring me.' replied Matsumoto, irritation coating his words.

'Ah,' said Allen, setting down his hands on his desk as he entwined them, reminding himself of an understanding principal waiting for the delinquent student to explain himself. 'Well, you see, I was too absorbed with my book that I didn't care about what was going on around me.'

'Huh. I didn't know monsters knew how to read.' Matsumoto said haughtily. He cocked his eyebrow as he threw a disgusted glance at the book. 'You sure you can handle something like a novel book?'

'It seems so, seeing as I've already read more books than what this school's library has. I'm sure you know so well how unfortunate I am to be born in this world looking like this so I might as well make up for my lack in physical charm by filling my head instead.' said Allen simply, his eyes twinkling. 'Unlike some people, you know, blessed with such decent looks and all but wasting their time away filling their heads with nothing but trash and doing nothing but absurd things.'

'Are you pertaining to anyone in particular Walker?' somebody from the class butted in.

Allen briefly glimpsed on the direction where the voice came from and shook his head, chuckling.

'No, no. I was speaking in general manner, silly. I'm sure all of you are too busy doing things like coming up with solutions to stop starvation or finding other planets where aliens are possibly dwelling so please, don't mind my words.' said Allen kindly, yet his words were clearly dripping with sarcasm. He looked back up to Matsumoto who stood in front of him clutching his carton of juice rather tightly. 'Right, Matsumoto?'

'Walker, you bastard.' Matsumoto growled as he poured all of his carton's content on Allen's head.

Everyone hitched a breath when they saw the orange liquid cascade down from Allen's hair to his shoulders, and onto his table. Luckily, the book was still safe. Allen pushed his fringe away from his forehead as he closed his eyes, praying with all his might not to snap right then and there.

'What's going on here.'

Everybody turned around to look at the girl standing at the doorway. Her hand was resting on the door frame and the other was on her hip. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to scrutinize the whole scene before her and she gasp when she saw Allen's state, her hands flew to cover her mouth.

'What did you guys do to Walker-kun?' she cried as she ran toward Allen's, pushing Matsumoto roughly on the side.

'It was he who started it first Lenalee-chan! Don't blame us!' Matsumoto retorted.

'Like hell I believe you! Get out of the way!' the girl called Lenalee snapped at him. She hurriedly took out her carnation pink handkerchief and reached out to wipe Allen's face.

Allen flinched at the touch.

'It's okay Lee-san. Please don't bother. I don't want your pretty handkerchief getting dirty because of me. I'll just go to the bathroom and-'

'Nonsense Walker-kun! Don't bother about petty things like getting a single cloth dirty. Now let me help you wipe your face first before you head to the comfort room.' Lenalee insisted, refusing any form of refusal. She gently wiped Allen's head and face as he stilled on his spot. 'And you guys, especially you Matsumoto, I won't be telling about this to the principal but if something similar to this happens again, I'll make sure my brother will kick you all out of this school!'

'Aren't we being cocky here, Lee?' a boy whose hair was parted in the middle neatly answered as he pushed his thick, round glasses up his nose.

'What-?'

'Lee-san! Please don't go to far for my sake.' Allen said in a shaky voice. He stood up as he pushed his chair out of the way and he gently tapped Lenalee's shoulder as he forced a smile. 'It's not worth getting in a fight with the rest of the class just because of someone like me. I can defend myself just fine so please don't bother. Your kindness is unnecessary.'

Allen left the classroom just as their teacher came in.

'Walker, where do you think you're going?'

Allen only waved his hand as his response and trudged along the now empty corridors on his way to the bathroom.

When he heard his classroom's door slam close, he let out a deep sigh.

'Darn it, I was so rude to Lee-san. I should apologize to her later when no one's watching. I just hope I won't get kicked in the guts.'

He turned left and entered the male's bathroom by the end of the hall and slumped on the nearest sink. He warily stared at his reflection on the mirror: the orange juice had now stained his newly-washed gakuran uniform. Thankfully, the cloth was made of black so he didn't have to worry about looking messy for the whole day. His locks of white hair have started to feel sticky too and he hated it when his hair was ruined. It was so easy to see if his hair was filthy since he had an inconveniently light, (lightest hair colour he had seen) mop of hair. He opened the faucet and cupped some water into his palms to pour on his head and started to sloppily wash his hair. Really, it was hard to wash one's head in a small sink such as this.

'OI!'

Allen froze. Whoever called him sounded royally peeved. He reckoned the guy got splashed on his uniform and he wanted some sort of apology. He was hoping verbal would be enough because he didn't want another trouble this early in the day. He squeezed his eye shut before standing straight up to look at the other guy standing before him. A strained smile stretched on his lips.

'Er, hi?' Allen said uncertainly.

'I got splashed on, moron.' the guy with a long, silky-straight black hair in tight high ponytail (Allen surmised he was a senior) snarled at him.

He peered at the older student's uniform first and saw there were blotches of colourless liquid on it and grimaced. He quickly put on a sincere apologetic face and bowed.

'I apologize. I was too careless with washing my hair.'

'Huh?! Hair-washing is normally done at home, moyashi, not in school!' the senior said nastily. His finely shaped eyebrow raised in annoyance.

_Moyashi? What's that?_ Allen scratched his head as he looked up, his troubled smile still plastered across his face.

'Well, I normally bathe at home but due unwanted circumstances...' he paused, briefly looking away. He wasn't sure whether to tell the senior about the 'juice incident' but he quickly dismissed the idea. 'Well, long story short, my hair got really sticky and I had to removed the dirt off of my hair. I am really sorry that I got you wet senpai.'

The long-haired senior huffed out his annoyance.

'Cut it out. You don't need to bow twice.' he said curtly.

Allen straightened his back at once, wiping off his smile.

The senior remained quiet as he scanned Allen from head to toe; his eyes seemed to linger on the stains on his chest. After a while, he finally looked away spitting an audible 'che' while he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

'Just be careful next time, stupid _moyashi_.' he strode off, rummaging in his trousers' pocket. His hair swayed gracefully behind him.

_Thank you Kami-sama for putting this petty issue to rest!_ Allen couldn't be any happier! He thought he would be bullied by this grumpy senior to pay for his uniform or something like that. It wouldn't surprised him if he asked for some sort of compensation for getting his uniform and pretty face wet.

'I shall, senpai. Thank you for understand-' Allen's grateful reply got cut off when he felt a soft fabric hit his face.

'You don't have to return it. I don't want it anymore. Che!' and the long-haired senior slammed the door shut behind him, not even bothering to wait for a reply.

'What the heck.' Allen said, blinking stupidly at the door, dumbfounded. He was clutching the grey plaid-patterned fabric he realized was a handkerchief. 'I don't know if I should feel grateful for this or should I be angry that he rudely threw this off to my face.'

He hesitated at first, warily eyeing the soft cotton material then decided there was no harm in using it since the senpai earlier bothered to lend (or maybe give, he was not sure) the neat handkerchief to him. He gently towelled his hair and face dry using the fresh fabric that smelt of something Allen could not quite identify, but it gave him the impression of something sexy in a manly way. _Oh. Wait. Wait. Let us not go there brain. He was a man, for crying out loud!_ He quickly finished wiping off his mane before he left the comfort room, carefully pocketing the hanky; a small smile adorning his lips.

This day may not be that bad for Allen Walker.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **hello! i hope it wasn't too bad for your eyes. if you've read this part of the story, thank you very much for reading! *bows* i hope you guys won't mind giving me reviews. i suck at writing and i really look forward to improving myself. i want to be able to decently deliver you guys this story, no matter how cliche this plot may seem... haha!

so please review! thank you so much in advance. \(^_^)/


	2. Trouble at Lunch

**Author's Notes:** Eleven days has passed since I posted the first chapter of my first ever Yullen story. But before I deliver this fresh-from-the-oven second chapter to you, I would like to address some of the reviews for general information. :)

First, I use inverted commas or single quotation marks because I'm trying to follow the British English rules. I hope you guys don't mind. :D

Second, about Allen being not familiar with the word 'moyashi', I've actually given it a thought before if it would be awkward to write that since they're in Japan and they speak Nihongo, but then I thought I wanted to show everyone that he's despite being already nearly proficient in the language, he's only been in Japan for such a short time, like months. So even if he has encountered the term before, since Allen doesn't eat it on a daily basis, he has probably forgotten that bean sprout in Nihongo is 'moyashi', his precious nickname. 3

Here's the second chapter mates! Saa... douzo!

* * *

Thankfully for Allen, time had flown fast and now it was already lunch. The moment the teacher had left the room, Allen had quickly left as well in order to get the school cafeteria while it still wasn't too crowded. He was now squeezed in a long queue of starving students waiting to be attended to.

'Ah Allen dear~!'

'Hello! Jeryy-san.' said Allen cheerfully to the eccentric looking chef of the school cafeteria.

'You're still cute as always Allen-chan! So, what are you going to have today?' Jeryy said while pinching Allen's cheek.

'Actually, I'm just getting a melon bread.'

Jeryy's outburst of disapproval of Allen's lunch was heard all over the cafeteria, making every student pause to turn and look for the commotion. Now the whole school knew that Allen would die of starvation because his lunch only consisted of melon bread, and that Jeryy was doting on him.

* * *

'Oh! He's only gettin' a melon bread? I heard he's got monstrous appetite!'

'Eh? Who are you talking about, Lavi?', Lenalee asked as she followed Lavi's gaze, 'Are you talking about Walker-kun?'

Lavi nodded, eyes still locked on the white-haired freshman.

'You know, something actually-'

'Uwah! Yuu-chan, you didn't even wait for me! That's cruel!' Lavi yelled indignantly and slumped on the chair beside Lenalee and opposite of Yu, who had already started with his meal.

Yu slowly looked up from his meal to snarl at Lavi, 'Shut it, Baka Usagi!' and quickly returned to eat his tonkatsu in peace.

Lavi just shrugged and turned back to Lenalee instead.

'You were saying?'

Lenalee rolled her eyes and sighed. She was already daintily opening her bentou.

'I think you have a short-attention span Lavi. Anyway as I was saying,' Lenalee said in a slightly higher pitch preventing Lavi from cutting her off again when she saw he was about to interrupt her, 'something actually happened earlier in our class involving Walker-kun.'

Lavi enthusiastically started with his mapo tofu meal while eagerly waiting for Lenalee to continue with her story.

'Aha. What happened to the boy?'

'Well, the guy in our class Matsumoto, your kouhai in basketball club, poured juice all over him this morning. I threatened the whole class to stop bullying Walker-kun or else I'll report them to the principal, but he said to cut it out and to not make enemies with my classmates just because of him.' Lenalee sighed.

'That Matsumoto's always a rude little shit! He thinks he's all high and mighty but he can't even properly execute a lay up to save his life.' Lavi snarled.

Lenalee only sadly looked at him and huffed. She took a small bite on her tamagoyaki and slowly chewed, contemplating.

On the corner of his eyes though, Lavi saw Yu sneakily gazing at Walker who was making his way out of the cafeteria, which was intriguing because Yu never really showed interest in anything he and Lenalee chatted about, or in rumours. He snickered.

'What is it?' Lenalee asked, snapping out of her trance.

'Nothing don't mind me.' Lavi continued to snicker which earned him bewildered stares (in Yu's case, a bewildered scowl) from his meal-time mates so he quickly cut it out and cleared his throat. 'Back to the topic. I don't understand why's he getting bullied. He seems such a nice kid to me. Too polite.'

'He's a real gentleman, like a prince in fairy tales. It started during his first day here. Classes have long since started so everyone had already formed their own little cliques. Matsumoto and his friends attempted to make a small talk with Walker-kun during break but then they got too interested in his gloved hands. Walker-kun politely brushed off the topic but the idiots wouldn't give it a rest.' said Lenalee. She momentarily stopped to drink water and chew her food properly.

'I assume the three idiots did something to offend the little guy.' said Lavi with a grim smirk. He was starting to attack his bowl like the food had personally offended him. Then he saw Yu grimaced at him; he immediately stopped.

'Indeed. They sneaked up on Walker-kun and forcibly removed the gloves on his hands.' said Lenalee. She looked around them first before she continued her narration with much lower voice, 'It was then when the whole class saw his left arm. Those guys obviously have the same brain as with a chicken and so they pestered him about it and well, Walker-kun must've probably snapped by then because next thing we knew he was already insulting them in English but I couldn't really understand since he has a thick British accent and he spoke too quickly. But by the sound of it they weren't at all the pleasant.'

Lavi gaped at Lenalee and laughed. 'Wow! That must've been quite a scene, eh? Wish I was there.' he said. Then he turned to Yu who was also keenly listening to Lenalee, his hand holding the chopsticks in midair.

'What?' he snarled at Lavi when he noticed he was openly being stared at.

'You're also interested in that Walker kid, I see. You rarely care about stories like this, Yu.' Lavi answered cheerfully, taking a spoonful of his meal.

'Fuck off.' Yu retorted rolling his eyes but did not deny what Lavi had accused him of.

'So what happened after that, Lenalady? I still don't quite understand how the rumours started.'

Lenalee looked at Lavi and Yu solemnly before she proceeded, 'Well, the class must've been surprised that Walker-kun would actually dare to retaliate since he's a transferee and a complete foreigner with peculiar looks. Matsumoto spread the rumour that he's a cursed kid because of his left arm and made childish pranks around him to make it seem like Walker-kun's a harbringer of bad luck. Others insult him now just to join the bandwagon. You know how much of a simpleton most of the students these days are.' she finished, slightly fuming.

'Whoa! Whoah! Lenalady calm down. You're practically livid.' said Lavi as he stared at Lenalee gulp down her water quite unlady-likely.

'Hn. So that kid doesn't take his bullying quietly with a happy face.' said Yu nonchalantly, finishing his last ebi tempura in a bite.

'No, I don't think so. He's being a gentleman most of the time and endures most of the mockery but when push comes to shove, he knows how to bite.' said Lenalee chuckling.

'I think he's pretty fun, that Walker kid. I'd be friends with him in a heart beat.' said Lavi.

Lenalee nodded as her reply. Yu only sipped his carton of tea. Lavi then continued to ravish his meal in silence, his thoughts filled with a certain white-haired student with peculiar looks.

* * *

'Hah!' Allen sighed at his melon bread, feeling downhearted that he would only eat a single piece of bread for lunch when he had a living monster residing in his stomach. He reached the vending machine outside of the school building then he rummaged in his pocket for some yen.

'Strawberry milk? Tea? Which one should I buy?' said Allen pondering in front of the vending machine of drinks.

Allen had inserted yen coins into the slot when arm draped around his shoulders, he caught a whiff of disgusting cinnamon scent, and the person pressed the button for coffee. Instantly, he felt his own body tremble from anger when he faced the person who bent to get the can of coffee and drank it in few gulps.

'Thanks for the treat, freak.'

_Bloody fucker._

'Oh, what a pleasant surprise, Matsumoto, Hayakawa, Abe,' Allen said sweetly, his voice sounded sickening even to him, 'but then I wonder why am I not surprised?'

'You might want to keep your mouth shut, Akuma, or you'd find my fist shoved in your mouth!'Matsumoto threatened in a nasty growl.

'Oh dear, I certainly do not want that. The only thing I want in my mouth right now is my melon bread, thank you very much. Now, I'll leave you alone once I got _my_ money back.' Allen said. His voice had gone colder, but his lips were still stretched in a smile, 'So please return it to me.'

'Oooh!' Matsumoto taunted, his lackeys snickered stupidly, 'Now I'm scared-'

'MATSU-CHAN!' someone from behind them called in a singsong voice, then suddenly, a tall (probably a senior) student, sporting a messy, bright crimson red hair arrived at the scene, slumped his body weight on Matsumoto and pulled him in a one-sided hug.

'Bookman...' Matsumoto greeted, sounding completely disheartened, 'senpai. Yo.'

The other two, Abe and Hayakawa, Allen observed from the corner of his eyes, took a few steps back seemingly wanting to blend with the wall. He wanted to laugh gleefully. The idiots resembled a cat being cornered by a huge, growling dog.

'What're ya doin' here eh?' the red-haired senpai asked in Osaka accent, tugging Matsumoto closer to him.

'Nothing. Nothing in particular senpai.' said Matsumoto in a strained voice. He was trying to wriggle out of the senpai's _'hug'_.

'Hmm. Is that so?' said the senpai. Then he spotted the coffee can in Matsumoto's hand, 'Oy, I also want a drink.'

'Eh?'

'Give me ¥150 already. I'm thirsty, hm.' the senpai said with a hint of menace.

Allen wondered if he was also in danger.

'B-but...'

'Cough up the money already or it's 10 laps for you at the school grounds.'

'I-I understand.' Matsumoto said fumbling on his wallet for the coins,'Here, Bookman-senpai.'

'"_Good boy_."' the senpai said, pleased. 'Now, scram!'

And the three little idiots flew away like they caught fire on their butts. Allen blinked several times before he slowly turned to the senpai looking at him grinning.

'Yo!' the senpai greeted.

Allen uncertainly bowed his head in reply.

'So those guys were bullying you?' the senpai asked while inserting the money he got from Matsumoto earlier into the slot.

'A little bit. But it was nothing I couldn't handle.' Allen replied meekly. He saw the him press the button for strawberry milk before he chanced a glance at the senpai's eyes; they were green, he perceived.

'Hmm...' was the senpai's only respond. He was busy rummaging his pocket. Then he inserted another ¥150 into the slot and bought mixed juice.

_Is he going to drink both?_

Allen's question to himself was answered by the senpai when he offered the strawberry juice to of his brows raised in question.

'Take it. Consider it a gift or something.' the senpai said as he winked, 'I'm Lavi Bookman by the way. Lavi's fine. Everybody calls me that.' Lavi introduced. His eyes were twinkling.

Allen reluctantly but graciously took the offered drink and bowed his head.

'Thank you very much.' he said, feeling self-conscious. He could feel his stare at him, 'Oh, I'm-'

'Oh! This is bad! I gotta get goin'! Yu might strangle me to death for making him wait for so long.' Lavi said hurriedly. Then he started to run for the door, 'See ya later Allen-chan!'

And he was gone as quickly as he came.

_Allen-chan?_ _Do I look like a girl?_ Allen scratched his head feeling confused when he suddenly realized something:

'Didn't he just return my money to me?' he asked himself incredulously and loudly, gaping at the strawberry milk in his hand.

Allen looked back at the door where Lavi had disappeared into and back at drink. He then happily punched in the straw and sipped the drink in content. He vaguely wondered why it was twice as delicious today than usual as he went back inside the school building with a light spring on his every step.

_I'll thank him properly when I see him next time. That Lavi-senpai._

* * *

**Author's Notes:** As always thank you for reading this. And I would like to express my gratitude to the readers for the reviews, follows, and favourites. I'm genuinely happy to think that there are readers out there who've read and appreciated my work. I'm so new to all of this, please continue to take care of me. Yoroshiku!

Let me know what you think, point out my mistakes, throw flames at me, I'll welcome them all. Please review! :D

P.S. Reviews are very educational. For example, in LovinOnlyForYuu2's review, there is this idiom there 'fish out of water' and I've googled it and I learnt something new!. :DD


	3. Three Monkeys and a Bean Sprout

**IMPORTANT:** I mentioned in chapter 1 that their uniform was blazer style but I am going back to my original idea which is the gakuran style: the old school uniform in Japan. Will try to describe sometime soon. And also I couldn't decide back then whether to use 'Yu' or 'Yuu'. I wanted to use the latter one, but when I went to do research I saw at a page that they write it as 'Yu'. Meh, 'Yuu' is better.

* * *

'Tim! I'm home!'

Allen closed the door behind him as a yellow furry cat sauntered its way to him. It eyed the grocery bags he laid on the floor, then something must have caught its attention as it started to sniff the inside of the bags. He quickly took off his shoes chuckling, and trotted over to the kitchen; his cat following closely behind.

'I got you something good, Tim. Today's my salary day and I'm in a good mood too!' Allen said to Tim excitedly. He started to extract the grocery items from the plastic bags and placed them on the shelves, some inside the fridge.

Timcanpy watched Allen from the top of the dining table; its tail standing up straight and would occasionally flick from side to side lazily.

'I know you're starving, Tim but please bear with me! I've got to sort out our supplies first. I'll be quick. Hm?' said Allen. He gave Timcanpy a quick scratch on its neck before he disappeared completely behind the door leading to the bathroom.

Timcanpy purred and flopped down on the table and licked its paws. It guessed it could wait for its food patiently. Afterall, Allen was always so generous when it comes to his beloved pet's food. But he knew better not to make it wait for too long, or it would rip his underwear again to shreds if it got crossed.

Moments after, Allen went back to the kitchen with a goofy grin across his face. His fringe were sticking on his forehead because of sweat.

'Sashimi for dinner Timcanpy!' Allen hollered as if Timcanpy was in another room instead of right in front of him.

Timcanpy's eyes grew wider, but probably not because Allen's voice astounded it, but because of the yummy sashimi and its delicious smell wafting in the air.

He leapt to the ground and purred at Allen's feet.

'Patience, love. I'm dividing this equally between us.', said Allen cheerily. He was putting cat food in Timcanpy's bowl and added four slices of maguro on top. 'There you go chap! Dig in!'

Timcanpy brushed its tail on Allen's leg then leapt over the chair then onto the table as he set down the bowl beside his plate. He also flopped down on a chair started his own dinner of three large orders of yakisoba, twelve pieces of dumplings, and maguro sashimi.

'Tim', Allen started. Timcanpy briefly looked up at him, 'I got bullied again today.'

Tincampy, for the life of the poor cat, couldn't figure out why its master was still grinning despite what he had just confessed. Last time it checked, bullying was never a good news, especially when it concerned Allen.

Allen cleared his throat and went on with his story.

'This morning, that douchebag Matsumoto poured juice over me.', said Allen while carefully chewing the yakisoba, 'So yes I quickly went to the toilet to wash my hair and I met a senior student there.'

Timcanpy looked up again at Allen, wondering about the need to pause. Then it saw him filling his mouth with dumplings and its question was answered. What was still baffling to the cat though was, how could anyone still have good manners in eating even when he was an extreme glutton? Timcanpy then just shrugged and continued its business in silence, ears still attentive to its master.

Allen gracefully gulped down the bulk of food in his mouth.

'Well, I thought the senpai was going to extort money from me because I splashed some water on him, see? But no, he even offered me his hanky, Tim. Wasn't he nice?' he said. He rummaged for the grey plaid-patterned handkerchief inside his pocket and showed it to Timcanpy.

Timcanpy sniffed it and grimaced at Allen.

Allen ignored it.

'He was really pretty. He has long hair tied in high ponytail, and his posture looks dignified, like those shogunate you see in samurai movies.' he said, sighing.

Timcanpy blinked at him.

'I know men aren't supposed to look _pretty_ but he _is_, Tim, he is so. He looks a bit grumpy though.' Allen finished, thoughtful.

The cat resumed eating, looking grumpy itself.

Allen shoved more food in his mouth and chewed before he spoke again.

'And then during lunch', Allen peered at the cat, Timcanpy ignored him, but he continued anyway, 'I was saved by another guy senpai again.'

Thankfully, the cat finally finished its meal and was now licking its paws and whiskers. It would be more responsive to its master from now on, it supposed. Timcanpy blinked at Allen to signal for him to go on with his story.

Allen petted its head, chuckling.

'He returned my money to me. You see, my classmates stole my drink from the vending machine but he quickly arrived at the scene and extorted money from them. I thought I was in trouble too, but he bought me my strawberry milk using the money he got from them.' he said barely containing his laughter.

The cat gawked at Allen as it plopped down on the table, already done with its grooming. It wondered why its master was so happy about the whole incident. Wasn't extortion a bad thing for humans?

'I know what you're thinking, Tim. That red-haired senpai didn't really extort money from my classmates; he just returned what they stole from me. And you know what, if I were a girl, I'd probably be gushing and giggling non-stop all day because... Hey! I got saved twice in a day by these _ikemen_!-',

Timcanpy rest its head in between its forelegs in resignation.

'Really, can you believe my luck? I bet all girls would love to be in my place. Me, I'm just grateful to know that there are still a few good-hearted souls on this Earth. Fate in humanity restored by half!' said Allen, peering over his cat for its lack of response.

_Really._ Timcanpy idly opened its one eye to consider him.

'Really, Tim! Are you suspecting me of something? Hm?', Allen questioned his cat, scrutinizing it, 'Are you perhaps thinking what I think you're thinking? Urgh Tim! Don't give me that _one-eye_ look! I hate it! Come, let's get you cleaned. I still have homework to do after this.'

Allen carried Timcanpy to the bathroom to bathe. Timcanpy just rolled its eyes and let its master carried it to wherever he pleased.

'Tim, I saw that!'

* * *

Lunch at school the next day came and Kanda was royally pissed. He loathed it when it was his turn to do errands for the teachers. He was on his way back from the gym carrying the box of materials for that old geezer in jersey uniform. It was damn heavy and Lavi was in tow.

Lavi.

'Why the hell are you following me by the way? ' Kanda demanded, whipping his hair as he sharply turned to look at Lavi.

'Because I love you.' Lavi said with a cheeky grin. He adjusted the papers in his arm.

Kanda rewarded him with a back kick.

'Ow! That hurts dammit Yuu-chan!'Lavi groaned.

'It was supposed to hurt, or it would be for nothing if it didn't, idiot.' Kanda snapped.

'You're so mean, Yuu-chan! Even though I went out of my way to help you, this is the thanks I get?'

Kanda ignored the rest of Lavi's words when he spotted a mop of white hair nearby, seated on the grass, his back resting against one of the school yard's giant trees. He then quickly realized it was the infamous 'Akuma', or so what the rest of the school called him, peacefully _wolfing_ down his bentou. He was about to frown in disgust when he noticed the three stupid-looking third years guffawing as they walked nearer the bean sprout. He abruptly stopped his pace.

'Hey, isn't that Allen Walker?...' Lavi trailed off.

Kanda assumed he was also wary of the monkeys that were now talking to the short stack. He couldn't blame him, afterall the scene in front of them quickly escalated to something unpleasant. He hid behind a tree and motioned for Lavi to do the same.

'Hey! What do we have here, eh?' one of the senior students with baseball cut who stood in the middle said in mock surprise, elbowing the other with copper-coloured hair.

'Isn't this the school's Akuma? the one with the cursed arm and eye?' copper-coulored hair immediately supplied.

'No shit! The real thing! How do you do?' the guy with shoulder-length curly hair asked Walker as he sneered.

Walker slowly looked up at them looking unperturbed.

'Oh, hello. What can I do for you, senpai?' Walker asked them politely. He was still holding his chopsticks in the air.

'Wow! For a first year, he sure has some guts eh, don't you think so Sano?' curly hair turned to the guy with baseball cut who apparently was called 'Sano'.

'It's more fun that way Yama-chan.' the copper-haired guy cut in, ogling at Walker. His eyes sweeping at him from head to-

Wait. _'Ogling?'_

Sano didn't speak at first. His eyes were plastered on Walker, seemingly assessing him. Suddenly, he pulled him up by the collar and spoke to the others.

'Yamamoto, Kirihara, what do you think should we do with him eh?' he sneered. Then he returned his attention to Walker, 'Let's have some fun kid, hm? Play with your senpai?'

On his side, Kanda felt Lavi's agitation.

'Those bastards are from class 3-C. You know, the class of "all brawns, no brains"? the kid's in trouble, Yuu! That Yamamoto's known for being a perv who bats for both teams! He'll fuck anything that has a hole!' Lavi hissed. His eyes glued on the the third years who had now surrounded the Walker. 'I think we should go and rescue him and-'

'No.' said Kanda firmly grabbing Lavi's wrist as he made a step out of their hiding place. 'Let the kid handle it by himself. He looks fine. If things get out of hand, then we'll intervene.'

'But Yuu!-'

Their imminent argument was cut off by a loud yell; next thing they knew, they were watching an all-out fight. Kanda turned to Lavi and the look of horror on his own face was mirrored on the other. They silently agreed to come to Walker's rescue when a realization struck Kanda suddenly.

The brawl between Walker and the three senior students was so one-sided. Walker was handling them quite well; he was fighting in a weird style Kanda had not seen before. He was sending flying kicks and throwing punch combinations. Against his nature, he actually felt a pang of pity for his fellow senior students. Imagine the humiliation if the word got out that they were single-handedly beaten to death by a skinny, short, and weak-looking first year. That would surely hurt their pride a lot. Kanda glanced at Lavi and he wasn't surprised to see him rooted on his spot, mouth hanging open, gaping and blinking stupidly.

Lavi blinked at Kanda and swallowed his spit.

'Kanda, I had no idea a chibi moe kid can be quite scary too.'

'Idiot.' Kanda hissed.

After that spectacular display of beating the shit out of those wimpy monkeys, Walker leaned on the tree gasping for air. He seemed totally fine and unscathed and somehow, Kanda felt relieved. He stepped out of their hiding place and stalked to him with Lavi in tow.

When Walker heard their approaching footsteps, he hastily stood up, peeked at his victims before him then abruptly bowed his head in repentance.

'I... I did not mean t-to beat them! Please believe me! This is actually legitimate self-defence but-but maybe I got a bit too carried away b-but I swear I did not start it!' he said hurriedly, stammering.

'Cut it out! We're not gonna report your ass! We saw the whole thing; these monkey idiots asked for it.' Kanda said, glaring at the limp bodies around them.

'That's right, Allen-chan. So don't you worry your pretty little mind, ne?' Lavi reassured Walker, winking.

Walker looked up at them looking grateful and relieved.

One by one, the beaten third years began to stir. Upon realizing that they were joined by two more persons, they immediately got up and ran, limping.

Lavi openly laughed.

'Eh?!' Walker suddenly gasped, looking wildly between Kanda and Lavi.

'What is it?' Kanda and Lavi chorused, slightly alarmed.

'Do you know each other, Lavi-senpai?'

'What? You've already met? Yuu-chan and Allen?'

'At the bathroom the other day, yes.'

'Oh! I see...' said Lavi, giving a sly grin at Kanda, 'That's right! We're classmates and best friends-'

'-I'm not your best friend! Don't spout lies you idiot rabbit!'

'-rabbit?'

'-Anyway, yeah, we know each other well.', Lavi said with a sigh. He looked somewhat displeased that he had been interrupted rudely by Kanda, 'And these three are third years from class C. Good thing ya know some pretty awesome moves, eh? Where'd ya learn all that?'

'Master- I mean my guardian taught me some basic military self-defence when I was young.' Walker said simply.

'Your guardian sounds suspicious.' Kanda muttered, squinting his eyes

'Ha! Ha! I guess so. He's quite mysterious even to me.' Walker replied with a chuckle.

'Who's your guardian by the way? Your uncle?' Lavi interjected.

'He's my godfather. He's been taking care of me since I was young.' said Walker, turning his attention to Lavi.

'Hmm, I see. Oh, I almost forgot!' Lavi suddenly yelled, making Walker jump and Kanda glare at him, 'You know Lenalee?, Lee Lenalee?'

'Um, yes. She is my classmate. What about her?'Walker asked hesitantly.

'Well, me and Yuu here', Lavi draped his arm around Kanda's shoulder to which Kanda just rolled his eyes in disgust 'Are also friends with her.'

Walker silently gasped.

'Yep. Heard that right li'l man. Now I've decided that you'll be joining us for lunch starting today. Sounds good yeah?' said Lavi with a winning smile.

'But-'

'Not today Baka Usagi, on Monday. We've got to deliver these stuff to the faculty room. We're eating in the classroom today.' Kanda cut in, rattling the box he was holding.

'Oh yeah I forgot. Sorry! Ha! Ha!', Lavi said eyeing the papers in his other arm, 'Yuu, you don't mind Allen-chan joining us do ya?'

'Tch!'

Walker looked from Kanda to Lavi then shook his head.

'Thank you for the kind offer but I'm fine, senpai.' said Walker, clearly flurried.

'No buts! We'll see ya on Monday. Later Allen-chan! Me and Kanda gotta go!' Lavi said waiving his hand. He tugged Kanda closer and attempted to drag him away which earned him an elbow jab on his stomach.

Lavi howled in pain.

* * *

A/N: I am aiming to be able to write how the Japanese people actually think and speak. Right now, I'm trying to build up their relationships with one another and form their characters for foundation. Also I'm tweaking some stuff from the canon to add (hopefully) spice to the story, maybe. Ha! Ha! I dunno, well some things are really not necessary to put in the plot so... Hope you guys will bear this in mind in the future. Also I want to sincerely thank you guys for the reviews, faves, and follows. They keep me motivated. Hopefully I'll be able to finish chapter 4 soon as I've already started writing it.

Please read and review. Let me know how much I suck.


	4. Moyashi Sighting

**Trivia:** 'Nothing Else Matters' came from Metallica's song of the same title. I was struggling to come up with a title for this story when I went to YouTube and listened to 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin when I saw Metallica's video at the suggested videos on the side of the page.

* * *

It was Saturday and Allen's day off his part-time job. He had done laundry early that day and cleaned his apartment afterwards, shooing Timcanpy who seemed intent to disrupt everything he did. The cat had decided to claim the sofa when Allen ad been vacuuming it. It had jumped on his back, claws hanging in his shirt when he had been airing out his bed sheets. Lastly it had strutted about the whole floor where he had been sweeping. He had scolded the car then and now, his pet was ignoring him completely. It only wanted to play with him but still, he was irritated that he had finished all his chores past his lunch time when he had been so intent to finish it before twelve noon struck.

Allen was now on his way to the supermarket. He needed to buy ingredients for the mushrooms and tuna pasta he was planning to cook for his meal today. He had already shopped to restock his supplies the other night but he lacked meat and had no mushrooms stocked in his fridge.

Upon entering the supermarket, Allen took a cart and pushed his way in between the shelves and went to the vegetable area at the far corner of the establishment. Varieties of vegetables were neatly piled in individual black boxes and each of them has a label written in Japanese characters with English translations and the price.

He examined each kind of vegetables there, contemplating if he would need to buy them for the next days' meals but he hadn't really planned anything yet, seeing as he preferred to cook what he was in mood for the day. He took some mushrooms of different kinds: shiitake, bunashimeji, ordinary ones, and enoki, and then chose the freshest leaves of shiso and placed them all neatly in his cart. He gave the vegetable corner one last look before he left when the bean sprouts caught his attention. He gingerly rolled to his cart to its direction and took some to peer at them. He glanced at the label which read 'moyashi' in Japanese characters and _'bean sprouts'_ in his mother tongue. He stared at the word 'moyashi' sensing that it was awfully familiar - an odd feeling creeping up on his skin. He returned his attention to the bean sprouts in his hand, his burrows furrowed.

'Don't eat your own kind, Moyashi.'

Allen jumped and turned his head sharply on his right and found Kanda in his usual high ponytail. He was donned in dark grey long sleeved with turtle neck shirt, skinny black pants, and ankle-cut black leather boots. On his arm was a black grocery basket filled with nothing but instant noodles.

'Kanda-senpai! What are you doing here - and what do you mean by "own kind"?' Allen blurted out.

Kanda quirked his eyebrow at the question.

'What do you think people do in supermarkets?,' he asked sarcastically, 'And what I said exactly. It's called cannibalism when you eat that. You're supposed to be family with that thing.'

'W-what? I am not a bean sprout!' Allen exclaimed vehemently, running after Kanda who walked away from the vegetables section.

'Don't shout here you idiot! And why are you following me?' Kanda asked, eyebrow still hovering beneath his fringe.

'I am so sorry!,' Allen said feeling agitated as he bowed his head apologetically when he noticed that other shoppers' heads were turned in their direction. He tried to ignore them all when he noticed Kanda's items in his basket. 'Why are you only shopping for noodles senpai?'

'Because I like them. Now, fuck off!' Kanda whispered hotly.

'But those are not nutritious - AH! I have an idea!,' Allen said excitedly, grabbing Kanda's shoulder to turn him around, 'Why don't you join me for lunch - to show my gratitude for lending me your handkerchief the other day. I don't want to sound that I'm bragging but I daresay that I'm a decent cook and judging by those instant noodles in your basket, you don't even know how to cook rice.'

Kanda squinted his eyes at his last comment. Then his face took on a contemplating look.

'Why should I take an offer from a stranger? I don't know you at all.' Kanda said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

'Oh! I believe we were introduced yesterday so we're not really strangers anymore but I guess it's still hard to trust someone you barely know.' Allen replied thoughtfully. He tapped his finger on the corner of his mouth as he thought of something that would convince Kanda to trust him, 'Er, I cannot think of any reason besides simply accepting my good will and gratitude. Besides, I don't have any reason to poison you, do I?' He said with a chuckle.

Kanda's expression was unreadable as he bore into Allen's eyes.

'Lead the way.'

Allen laughed as he made his onto the fruits section to get himself some avocados and cucumber to finish his shopping.

* * *

'What are you having for lunch?' Kanda asked as he dropped his grocery bag on Walker's centre table. He observed the whole apartment; although it was small and enough for a single person to live in, it was clean, spacious, modest, and with a tranquil feel to it. He could tell that some of the furniture like the sofa was of mediocre quality yet they looked well-maintained. The hues used for the whole apartment were light earthly tones. He thought it suited Walker perfectly.

'Mushroom and tuna pasta, and dragon roll.' Allen replied cheerfully. He dragged his heavy grocery bags onto the kitchen and placed them on the counter with a heavy thud.

'You've got a decent place.' Kanda commented, his head turning left and right surveying the place.

'Thank you,' Allen smiled, 'I hope you don't find it too tiny though.'

'Well, it _is_ tiny, but it's not cramped,' Kanda said with a shrug, 'You're small anyway.'

Walker faced him with a scowl on his face.

'You really know how to poke where it hurts, senpai. And may I correct you? I'm not _small_, I'm of _average_ height.' he said hotly.

'I'm just honest.' Kanda said with a slight smirk. He pulled out a chair from the dining table and watched Walker as he busied himself from preparing the tools and ingredients.

'_Brutally_ honest.' Walker added as he whirled around the kitchen counter.

'Is that anyway to talk to your seniors?' Kanda asked in taunting tone.

'If you must know _senpai_,' Walker turned his head on his direction, back still facing him, 'I am a _foreigner_. I am not used to being really submissive to someone who's just a couple of years older than me - but I do now how to be polite.' he finished, his eyes glaring at him.

'Tch.' Kanda said. He found it fun to tease Walker. He was small, and wasn't passive. He knew how to retaliate without looking like a scardy cat. People around him would usually cower in fear just because their gazes met - but this kid - Walker - he would have his fun with him. His gaze wandered around Walker's arms which were covered by the long sleeves of his white button-up shirt, he also wore pure-white gloves to cover his hands. Kanda supposed it was all to cover his supposed hideous arm, according to the rumours. He felt bad for him but of course he wouldn't voice it out loud - ever. He wondered how Walker's arm ended up like that and how could he endure wearing such suffocating clothes all the time. But surely, he wouldn't wear gloves in sleep, would he...?

It wasn't just the peculiar clothes and gloved hands that made Walker stand out. He also had an odd pure white hair which reminded him of untouched snow or of ivory, depending on the light of which it reflected. His face was another oddity Kanda had never seen before; on his left forehead was an angry red scar that resembled a badly drawn inverted pentagram, then, just beneath the point of the star, a vertical line was drawn over his eyebrows and eyelid dragged past below his eye, hooked slightly on his cheekbone, then it formed a curve following the contour of his cheek, then an additional single wave line of scar on his lower eyelid, marring the otherwise smooth texture of his face. Aside from the attention-stealing scar on his face, Walker also had a curious shade of big, bluish silver round eyes which Kanda felt that could penetrate one's soul upon gazing at them. The thought made him slightly uncomfortable.

Kanda's train of thoughts was interrupted by non other than Walker himself.

'Senpai, I hate to be rude but, aren't you going to offer help? I know I invited you on my own will but it would be nice if you could help me so we can eat earlier - and I think I need to teach you how to cook too because judging by the things you bought earlier, you only know how to cook _instant_ soba.' Allen said with a smile. Kanda felt it was a jibe

Kanda scowled and stepped beside Walker and he harshly shoved him by the shoulder. He grabbed the knife from him and took one of the avocadoes sitting on the chopping board.

'Tell me what should I do.' Kanda said with a clipped tone.

Allen peered at him with a smirk - then he laughed freely - not in an insulting way but in good humour. He laughed like a child and it reminded Kanda of wind chimes making tingling sounds as the gentle wind blew past it.

Kanda grimaced at his thought.

Walker must have misunderstood his expression because he quickly straightened his face and then cleared his throat.

'I apologize. I did not mean to insult you in anyway, I just found your expression adorable, senpai.' Allen said with a shrug. It was obvious he was still fighting his urge to laugh.

Kanda thought he didn't mind if Walker laughed some more . He wasn't offended anyway. Then he remembered Walker said something about 'adorable' and he was about to snap at him about it when he felt something brush against his leg which made him yelp. He was ready to chuck the knife at the thing when he recognized it to be a cat.

'Timcanpy!' Walker cried as he picked up the bushy, yellow, ugly cat.

'Is that yours?' Kanda asked, not making any effort to hide his disgust.

'Yes. Isn't he lovely?' Allen said as he nuzzled with it, eyes sparkling.

The cat's yellow-green eyes focused on Kanda.

'Uh...' Kanda said, aware that he sounded dumb just now.

Then the cat called Timcanpy scratched Walker mercilessly across his face - Walker howled in pain and dropped it on the floor - it landed on its feet, glared at Kanda, then stalked off somewhere in the room.

'I forgot we fought this morning. He's usually a sweet little fellow but sometimes he's just - ugh - I shouldn't have scolded Tim earlier. He just wanted to play with me.' Walker said as he turned the faucet on and splashed some water on his scratched faced.

'Right. _"Sweet little fellow"_ it is.' Kanda sneered.

'Ugh! Going back to avocadoes - please peel them all and then slice them in half then in thin width wise.'

Kanda gingerly picked up one of the potatoes and began peeling it while Walker busied himself with something else and so the moment passed by in silence. He thought peace would last a little longer when -

'What are you doing? And what is this thickness? Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh my god you don't even know how to peel a fruit properly? Senpai, this is considered a talent - pfft! - Ha! Ha! Ha!'

Kanda wanted to chuck the knife at Walker's face so badly in embarrassment. He could feel his face oozing off with boiling heat which crept to his neck and down his back.

Walker howled in laughter some more.

* * *

Late lunch had gone in relative peace in opposed to the mayhem that had happened earlier while they were preparing their food. After pointing out to Kanda his fascinating talent at peeling avocadoes (or any fruit or vegetable for that matter, Allen guessed), Kanda had an expression like he so badly wanted to thrust the knife at Allen's heart or skin him alive - thankfully, he had only slammed the knife on the table and had attempted to walk out. He had to pacify his anger by apologizing profusely while trying to keep his face serious. He had accepted the apology with threats that Kanda would end Allen's life should he make fun of him again, and had gone back to the kitchen, stomping his way in the process. After that, Allen had calmly taught him how to peel an avocado and how to slice it in his preferred shaped for the dragon roll and so the cooking process had gone by without any blood shed.

'Thank you for joining me for today's lunch. I had fun.' Allen said with a sincere smile after wiping his mouth off with a napkin.

Kanda gave him a sharp glare.

'No! Don't misunderstand senpai. I'm not making fun of you - I meant - it had been so long since the last time I had dined with someone. I had almost forgotten what it felt like.' Allen trailed off.

'Where's your guardian? You mentioned him the other day.' Kanda asked.

'Oh! Cross? He went back to England saying he had something urgent to do there. He ditched me right after we arrived here in Tokyo.' Allen replied.

'You mean he abandoned you?' Kanda asked incredulously.

'No! Cross did not abandon me. He had to deal with something in England. No matter how ridiculous Cross' actions appeared to others, he did them because he had valid reasons. And besides, I'm not alone. Timcanpy is with me.' said Allen defensively. He was getting uncomfortable about how Kanda viewed his godfather. It was true that Cross was sometimes unreasonable but he had great respect for him. After all, he was the only one who willingly took Allen when no one else did because they found his arm and scars hideous. Cross protected him from harm and he kept him well and alive after all these years.

Kanda must have detected his discomfort.

'Tch!' he spat, almost inaudibly.

'But I believe I'm faring well. Japan is a lovely place; it's not hard to quickly grasp how things work here. And my godfather said he'll be back after a few months.' Allen said with a crooked smile.

'I suppose it really isn't unusual for high school students these days to live alone. I also live apart from my family.' Kanda said nonchalantly. He was picking on his leftover mushrooms on his plate.

'So I was right about you.' Allen said with a sheepish grin.

'It's nothing big. My family is from Kyoto. They sent me here in Tokyo to study at Hoshino International School.' Kanda answered in a reserved manner.

'And judging from where you shop, you also live around here.' Allen concluded.

Kanda only jerked his head as his reply.

Allen chuckled and shook his head off. Then he remembered he still had a tub of chocolate and strawberries ice cream in the fridge so stood up from his seat to get it.

'Time for desserts!' he announced excitedly.

'You're still not full?,' Kanda asked looking astounded, 'The amount of food you've inhaled was like for five gluttonous people!'

'I'll always have room for desserts!'

* * *

Kanda trudged back to his bedroom and slumped on his bed. He started to regret accepting Walker's invitation to lunch. It seemed to him that Walker tried to kill by force-feeding, that cheeky runt! He had never been this full before. He had a funny feeling that he wouldn't need to eat for the next three days.

Kanda was about to get ready for bath when his phone rang indicating that he got a new e-mail. He flipped his phone and opened the message; it was from Walker.

Kanda-senpai,

Again, I would like to thank you for joining me on today's lunch. I hope you enjoyed the food as much as I did. ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／ Too bad you didn't get to hang out with Tim because he was sulky today. I thought you'd definitely hit it off at first sight. (。┰ω┰。) Next time you come, I'll definitely make sure Tim is in his best mood - and I'll also teach you how to cook some basic stuff for survival. See you on Monday! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Allen Walker

Kanda shut his phone close and pocketed it. He did not expect Walker to be the kind who'd use a lot of emoticons in his messages. Never mind, at least he had something to look forward to on Monday – ticking the hell off of Walker.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter title sounds stupid. It just came to me randomly. I don't have any naming sense, do I? As always reviews are always very much appreciated. Point any grammar mistakes, or if you find this chapter boring, or if you have any other suggestions, just say them in reviews. I try to reply to all of you but I have short attention span, as I have come to accept recently haha! One moment, I'm typing my heart-felt messages, next moment, I'm off reading something, forgetting that I still have not sent or finish the message.

Didn't have much time to proof read so I expect this to be worse than usual.


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